Quote Investigator® – Page 188

Quote Origin: The More Sand Has Escaped from the Hourglass of Our Life, the Clearer We Should See Through It

Niccolò Machiavelli? Jean-Paul Sartre? Jean Paul? Johann Paul Friedrich Richter?

Question for Quote Investigator: A student would like to use the following quotation about perspicacity gained through experience in a yearbook, but she has been unable to determine an appropriate ascription:

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

These words are often attributed to Niccolò Machiavelli or Jean-Paul Sartre which I think is an eccentric juxtaposition. I was unable to find precise citations for either of these individuals. Would you help resolve this question?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI appeared in a German novel titled “Hesperus oder 45 Hundsposttage, Eine Biographie” published in 1795 by Johann Paul Friedrich Richter who used the pen name Jean Paul. “The Oxford Companion to German Literature” described the work as follows:¹

The eccentric sub-title refers to the chapters, which are designated Hundsposttage, and are supposed to have been brought to the author’s friend by a Pomeranian dog. Written in Jean Paul’s characteristic whimsical style, the book has a complex and absurd plot.

The quotation about a figurative hourglass referred to a single individual named Emanuel in the novel. The statement was later generalized to encompass all people. Here is the relevant passage in German followed by one possible English translation:²

Emanuel sah ruhig wie eine ewige Sonne, auf den Herbst seines Körpers herab; ja je mehr Sand aus seiner Lebens-Sanduhr herausgefallen war, desto heller sah er durch das leere Glas hindurch.

Emanuel looked peacefully as an eternal sundown upon the autumn of his body; indeed the more sand had fallen out of his life-hourglass, the clearer he saw through the empty glass.

In 1837 a weekly journal called “The New-York Mirror” printed an article titled “Original Translations: Scraps from Jean Paul” which included a version of the quotation together with other adages from Richter. Here are three examples:³

Our sorrows are like thunder clouds, which seem black in the distance, but grow lighter as they approach.

The more sand has escaped from the hour-glass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

The moon is a light-house on the shore of the other world.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Must Be a Pony Somewhere

James Kirkwood Jr.? Ronald Reagan? Ken Kesey? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: There is a famous joke about a child who wakes up on Christmas morning and is surprised to find a heap of horse manure under the tree instead of a collection of presents. Yet, the child is not discouraged because he has an extraordinarily optimistic outlook on life. His parents discover him enthusiastically shoveling the manure as he exclaims, “With all this manure, there must be a pony somewhere!”

New York Times language maven William Safire stated that the entire joke would be brought to mind for many readers by simply mentioning the punchline:¹

There must be a pony in here somewhere.

Safire connected the tale to Ronald Reagan who enjoyed telling a version, but I know that the Broadway playwright James Kirkwood Jr. also wrote a semi-autobiographical 1960 novel referencing the tale with the title:

There Must Be A Pony!

Would you please trace this comical anecdote?

Reply from Quote Investigator: There are many versions of this joke, and it has been evolving for more than one hundred years. The telltale sign of a pony seen by the expectant child has varied, e.g., horse dung, a horse shoe, horsehair, and a bale of hay. Sometimes one child was featured, and sometimes the divergent behaviors of an optimistic child and a pessimistic child were contrasted. This high variability makes the story difficult to trace. Also, the earliest instances located by QI used a different punchline.

In 1902 a state senator in Illinois addressed a banquet of business people in the advertising industry and presented the following narrative:²

Three little children were hanging up their stockings. They were Rebecca and Rachel and Ikey. The old man had licked Ikey the night before and told him that Santa Claus was no good and wouldn’t bring him anything.

“Oh, yes,” said Ikey, “Santa Claus will; my father is an old friend of his; Santa Claus is a nice fellow; he will bring me something.”

By the way, I should tell you what a mean daddy the father was. He went out into the street and got a piece of frozen earth that hadn’t been left there by an automobile [laughter], and he put that—deliberately took and put it in poor little Ikey’s stocking. In the morning the three children were up early to find out what Santa Claus had left them. “What you got?” was the first question as each examined the contents of the stockings. Rachel had a little diamond ring and Rebecca had a gold watch. “And you, Ikey. What did you get?”

But Ikey was faithful.

“Well, Santa Claus is all right,” he said. “I think he brought me a pony, but he must have got away.” [Laughter and applause.]

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: You Cannot Fool All the People All the Time

Abraham Lincoln? Jacques Abbadie? Denis Diderot? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: One of the most famous sayings attributed to Abraham Lincoln is about deception:

You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

I was astounded to learn that there is no solid evidence that Lincoln actually used this adage. Would you please examine its provenance?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Abraham Lincoln died in 1865. Two decades later in September 1885 a version of the adage was used in a speech by a Prohibition Party politician named William J. Groo who provided no attribution for the remark. In March 1886 another Prohibitionist politician employed the saying, and this time the words were credited to Lincoln. These citations constitute the earliest evidence of closely matching statements located by QI. Details are presented further below.

An intriguing precursor appeared in a popular 1684 work of apologetics titled: “Traité de la Vérité de la Religion Chrétienne” by Jacques Abbadie who was a French Protestant based in Germany, England, and Ireland. The following passage appeared in chapter two:¹

… ont pû tromper quelques hommes, ou les tromper tous dans certains lieux & en certains tems, mais non pas tous les hommes, dans tous les lieux & dans tous les siécles.

The spelling “tems” was used in the original text instead of “temps”. Here is one possible translation into English:²

One can fool some men, or fool all men in some places and times, but one cannot fool all men in all places and ages.

Abbadie’s treatise was published in many editions for many years. The same statement appeared during the next century in the landmark “Encyclopédie: ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers” edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert. The fourth volume of the encyclopedia was released in 1754, and it included a passage that was nearly identical to the one above with “peut” instead of “pû” in a philosophical section discussing metaphysics and God.³

On September 9, 1885 the “Syracuse Daily Standard” of Syracuse, New York published an article about a convention of Prohibitionists during which a speech was delivered by a judge named William. J. Groo who complained about the actions of state politicians. He spoke a version of the adage without attribution, and this was the earliest strong match located by QI:⁴

You can fool all the people part of the time, or you can fool some people all the time, but you cannot fool all people all the time.

On March 8, 1886 “The Albany Times” of Albany, New York published an interview with Fred. F. Wheeler who was the chairman of a state committee for Prohibitionists. Wheeler employed a version of the adage while criticizing politicians for blocking a referendum, and this citation was the earliest ascription to Lincoln located by QI:⁵

They should remember Abraham Lincoln’s famous saying: “You can fool part of the people some of the time, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time,” and take their stand boldly and fearlessly on this question and abide the result at the ballot box.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: A Ship in Harbor Is Safe, But that Is Not What Ships Are Built For

John A. Shedd? Grace Hopper? Albert Einstein? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: On December 9, 2013 the Google Doodle honored the pioneering computer scientist and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper. Here are two versions of a quotation that is often attributed to her:

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
A ship in port is safe; but that is not what ships are built for.

This saying has also been credited to Albert Einstein and John A. Shedd. Can you tell me who said it?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1928 John A. Shedd released a collection of sayings titled “Salt from My Attic”, and the following popular aphorism was included:¹

A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.

This citation appeared in the important reference work “The Yale Book of Quotations” edited by Fred R. Shapiro.²

Grace Hopper also employed a version of this expression on multiple occasions. For example, in 1981 Hopper spoke an instance of the adage with “port” instead of “harbor”. The ascription to Albert Einstein is unsupported. Details are given further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: “I Insured My Voice for $1,000,000.” “Wonderful! What Did You Do with the Money?”

Miriam Hopkins? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: While watching the television show “The Voice” a friend told me about an entertaining zinger. One singer was trying to impress another singer by describing an insurance policy:

Singer 1: “I Insured My Voice for One Million Dollars.”
Singer 2: “Wonderful! What Did You Do with the Money?”

A version of this rejoinder has been attributed to the actress Miriam Hopkins. Would you explore this tale to determine the participants?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of this anecdote located by QI was printed in a Boston, Massachusetts newspaper in October 1936 which acknowledged a correspondent in Rome, Italy. The first participant in the repartee was male and was only identified as a “famous singer”. The short item was grouped with a collection of jokes in a humor column called “In Lighter Vein”. The value of the insurance policy was denominated in British pounds:¹

“I insured my voice,” stated the famous singer, “for £50,000.” “And what,” asked his rival, “have you done with the money?”—Marc Aurelio (Rome).

The same comical tale was printed in “The Literary Digest”² of New York, “The Era”³ newspaper of Bradford, Pennsylvania, and the “Chester Times”⁴ of Chester, Pennsylvania in October 1936. The three periodicals credited Marc Aurelio of Rome.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Strength of the Sole Leather Has Passed into the Fibre of Your Body

Ralph Waldo Emerson? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following quotation about the value of exercise is attributed to the transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson:

When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the shoe leather has passed into the fiber of your body.

I searched for this expression in a database of writings by Emerson and was unable to find it. Neither the Wikiquote main page nor the discussion page for Emerson listed the saying. Would you be willing to explore these words?

Reply from Quote Investigator: A version of this statement did appear in the “Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson with Annotations: 1849-1855”, but some crucial words were different. Emerson spoke of “sole leather” and “fibre” instead of “shoe leather” and “fiber”. These small differences can cause a database search to fail. Even a search for a phrase that exactly matches a phrase that is present in a large-scale text database can sometimes fail for a variety of complex reasons.

Here is an excerpt from a journal page written in 1851 when Emerson was 48 years old. Boldface has been added to excerpts:¹

Economy. Nature says thou shalt keep the air, skate, swim, walk, ride, run. When you have worn out your shoes, the strength of the sole leather has passed into the fibre of your body. I measure your health by the number of shoes and hats and clothes you have worn out. He is the richest man who pays the largest debt to his shoemaker.

The multi-volume edition of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s journals was edited by his son, Edward Waldo Emerson, and his grandson, Waldo Emerson Forbes. Publication was spread across several years, and the volume containing the excerpt above was released in 1913.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If You Can’t Convince Them, Confuse Them

Harry Truman? A. C. Wilson? Adolf Hitler? Richard H. Leask? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following maxim is attributed to President Harry Truman:

If you can’t convince them, confuse them

Did Truman really say this? It seems inconsistent with his personality because he was often lauded for being plain spoken and not dissimulating.

Reply from Quote Investigator: Harry Truman did use this expression in a speech delivered in 1948; however, he was not advocating the technique described by the adage. Instead, Truman asserted that his political opponents were using the tactic which he viewed as unscrupulous. The details are given further below.

The earliest evidence of a precise match for this saying located by QI appeared in a 1919 publication from the Manchester Literary Club in England. A novel by William De Morgan featured a clever character named Christopher Vance who sometimes resorted to distracting and baffling other characters to achieve his aims. Vance’s strategy was described and encapsulated with a motto in an article by A. C. Wilson printed in the “Manchester Quarterly”. Wilson may have been presenting a pre-existing adage. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:¹

“If you cannot convince them, confuse them,” might have been his motto, and not a bad one either; at any rate it came off in his case.

In April 1942 a short item was printed on the editorial pages of at least two newspapers in New York and Wisconsin. The saying was attributed to an anonymous observer,² and the declamatory technique was condemned by a linkage to Adolf Hitler:³

One observer of today’s scene has this advice to orators: If you can’t convince them, confuse them. Hitler is one who goes on this principle.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Television Is Chewing Gum for the Eyes

Frank Lloyd Wright? John Mason Brown? Henri Peyre? Fred Allen? Dick Cavett? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The most acerbic criticism I have heard directed at TV was attributed to the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright:

Television is just chewing gum for the eyes.

However, I recently saw the remark credited to a drama critic named John Mason Brown. Could you explore this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of this vivid metaphor located by QI appeared in a 1944 book by Henri Peyre who was a Professor of French at Yale University. In 1944 television sets were still very expensive, and the industry was immature in the U.S. The metaphor was applied to movies and radio broadcasts instead. Boldface has been added to excerpts:¹

Yet there is no sorrier sight to watch then the vacant faces of those former high school and college students when, at thirty-five or fifty, all their mental alertness having vanished, the spark gone from their eyes, they dutifully chew their gum to keep from yawning, while absorbing the chewing gum for the eyes of the movies or the chewing gum for the ears of the radio.

The same men who once read Shakespeare, Molière, Byron glance at the headlines of their tabloid papers, turn straight to the page of the funnies, to devour them with the same dutiful sense of boredom as they swallow their hamburger at lunchtime and their highball after dinner.

More than a decade later this figurative language was applied to another communication medium. In January 1955 Steven H. Scheur who was a well-known film critic visited the “book-lined New York apartment” of John Mason Brown who was a prominent theater critic. They discussed the quality of the programs broadcast on television. Brown applied the chewing-gum metaphor to TV:²

Although Brown is generally recognized as our most eminent theater essayist—Saturday Review of Literature—he confesses to a special partiality for TV news shows.

“So much of TV seems to be chewing gum for the eyes. … TV desperately needs more self-reliance and pride in the medium.”

By 1958 the remark was being credited to the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Details are given further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Have Been Laid Up With Intentional Flu

Samuel Goldwyn? Ted Robinson? Nine-Year-Old in Cleveland Heights? Jake ‘Malaprop’ Mintz?

Question for Quote Investigator: It is flu season, and when a co-worker called in sick recently a friend said that he probably had the “intentional flu”. I had never heard this wordplay on “intestinal flu” before, but my knowledgeable friend stated that this quip originated with Samuel Goldwyn. Is this an authentic Goldwynism?

Reply from Quote Investigator: A version of this joke was attributed to Samuel Goldwyn in the short biography “The Great Goldwyn” by Alva Johnston published in 1937. A section of the volume presented “a few Goldwyn lines that are vouched for by good authorities”. This was one:¹

I have been laid up with intentional flu.

Yet, this malapropism was already in circulation by 1932. A humor column by Ted Robinson published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper was filled with incorrect words and phrases. Here is an excerpt followed by a table with the correct terms:²

He must be halving an awful time trying to keep hoase and look after the youngsters. And believe me it isn’t the easiest job in the world keeping an eye on the health of a bunch of off springs like that when winter seems to bring just one epidermis after another. 1st its mumps and then its missiles and then along comes intentional flu or maybe infidel paralysis, and all in all its no snap.

halving = having
hoase = house
off springs = offspring
epidermis = epidemic
its = it’s
missiles = measles
intentional flu = intestinal flu
infidel paralysis = infantile paralysis

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Had to Get Up to Answer the Phone Anyway

Yogi Berra? Desi Arnaz? Carl Brandt? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following anecdote is told about baseball great Yogi Berra. He received a telephone call very early in the morning, and the caller apologetically said, “I hope I didn’t wake you.” Yogi replied:

Nah, I had to get up to answer the phone anyway.

Is this an authentic Yogiism?

Reply from Quote Investigator: There is good evidence that Yogi did deliver this quip. He included a version in his 1998 collection “The Yogi Book”, and the story was attached to his name in newspapers by 1958.

Yet, the joke can be traced further back in time, and the earliest evidence located by QI appeared in a syndicated Hollywood gossip column in September 1942. The humorous line was reportedly spoken by the musician and actor Desi Arnaz who was one of the stars of the popular television comedy program “I Love Lucy”. The use of “ayem” instead of “A.M.” in the following was a stylistic quirk of the columnist:¹

Pat O’Brien is chuckling about an early ayem phone call to Desi Arnaz. Noticing Desi’s voice sounded dull, Pat asked: “Did I get you out of bed?” “Not at all,” mumbled Arnaz, in a voice drugged by sleep, “I had to get up to answer the telephone anyway.”

In October 1942 the joke was printed in “The Calgary Herald” of Alberta, Canada. The caller and callee were unidentified, and the time period was shifted from early in the morning to late at night:²

Then there is the story about the man who was awakened at 4 a.m. by the ringing of his telephone.
“Sorry to trouble you at this time of night, old man …” began the voice at the other end of the wire.
“‘sall right.” interrupted the other. “I had to get up to answer the telephone, anyway.”

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.